2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.
3 Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.
4 For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.
5 Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.
7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.
12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.
13 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.
14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
15 My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.
17 How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.
19 Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men.
20 For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain.
21 Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee?
22 I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Key Verse:
14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
Key Observation:
McGee: “This speaks of the omniscience of God. He knows you. He knows me. He is the greatest psychologist. When you have a problem, it is not necessary to climb upon the psychiatrist’s couch and tell him everything. Why don’t you climb upon the couch of the Lord Jesus and just tell Him everything? You might as well tell Him because He knows all about you anyway. The psychiatrist still won’t know you even after you have told him everything you can think of.”
McGee, J. Vernon (1990-01-30). Thru the Bible 1-5 (5 Volume Set) (Kindle Locations 51771-51774). Grupo Nelson. Kindle Edition.
Memory Verse:
7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
Devotion:
I wonder about a verse from this wonderful psalm: “5 Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.” I wonder if the psalmest is saying what I think he is. I always before read this verse and assumed the psalmest was talking about the omnipresence of God, but now I am considering a new way of looking at this verse. Could he talking about time? Looking over the Hebrew, it does seem to be possibly looked at this way—at least partially. One word transliterated 'achowr, can mean aforetime, instead of behind. The next Hebrew word is transliterated Qedem. It can mean from an earlier time. I always assumed the psalmest was talking spatially here, but the verse may well include temporal omniscience also.
There is support from other verses in this psalm for this view. “15 My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.” So the Psalm is declaring temporal omniscience as well as spatial omniscience. I just never looked at verse five that way before and it causes me to reflect more on the awesome God we serve. I think it has a definite connection to the great sovereign passages in Romans and other places in the New Testament. The great mystery of election is that God has chosen us, and we have also chosen Him. We chose Him, the New Testament says, because He has enabled us. (John 6:65) But we are also commanded to believe. Tozer famously said, “Do not listen to any of these interpreters of truth who say God has chosen some and not chosen others, and that the ones He has chosen are good and the ones that He has not chosen are no good. They are vessels of wrath fitted to destruction, and God created them to have the fun of damning them.”
I think that Tozer well understood that the mystery of God was still a mystery. He understood the sovereignty of God full well: “God Almighty, before the beginning of the world, thought about you and planned your redemption. In those pre-creation times, God was thinking loving thoughts about you; and when you grieved Him by your sins, He still did not turn you over to hell.” Tozer understood that we were chosen before the foundation of the world; the Bible makes it plain to those who will but read. But Tozer pulls a quote from Wesley I think is wonderful: “I often think of the wise words of John Wesley: ‘Distinguish the act from the method by which the act is performed and do not reject the fact because you do not know how it was done.’” I know the Bible states both of the truths, sovereignty and choice of men, but I understand not how it is done. It is enough for this poor saint to know and accept them as true; I need not understand them.
One clue to where the mystery lies in the fact that the psalm makes plain: God is supra-temporal, that is to say, God lives outside of time, apart from anything that this temporal creature can understand. Says Tozer: “God has lived all our tomorrows and knows no yesterday and no tomorrow but swallows up yesterday and tomorrow in one everlasting now.” If I understand God’s plan for us aright, one day soon we will become part of that eternity. Perhaps then I will gain more insight on the view from God’s eyes.
A.W. Tozer. And He Dwelt Among Us: Teachings from the Gospel of John (p. 79). Kindle Edition.
A.W. Tozer. And He Dwelt Among Us: Teachings from the Gospel of John (pp. 118-119). Kindle Edition.
A.W. Tozer. And He Dwelt Among Us: Teachings from the Gospel of John (p. 43). Kindle Edition.
A.W. Tozer. And He Dwelt Among Us: Teachings from the Gospel of John (p. 79). Kindle Edition.
A.W. Tozer. And He Dwelt Among Us: Teachings from the Gospel of John (p. 101). Kindle Edition.
We'll Understand It Better By and By
1. Trials dark on every hand, and we cannot understand
All the ways that God could lead us to that blessed promised land;
But He guides us with His eye, and we'll follow till we die,
We will understand it better by and by.
2. We are tossed and driv'n on the restless sea of time;
Somber skies and howling tempests oft succeed a bright sunshine;
In that land of perfect day, when the mists have rolled away,
We will understand it better by and by.
3. We are often destitute of the things that life demands,
Want of food and want of shelter, thirsty hills and barren lands;
We are trusting in the Lord, and according to God's Word,
We will understand it better by and by.
4. Oft our cherished plans have failed, disappointments have prevailed,
And we've wandered in the darkness, heavy-hearted and alone.
But we're trusting in the Lord, and according to His Word,
We will understand it better by and by.
5. Temptations, hidden snares often take us unawares,
And our hearts are made to bleed for a thoughtless word or deed;
And we wonder why the test when we try to do our best,
But we'll understand it better by and by.
Chorus:
By and by, when the morning comes,
When the saints of God are gathered home,
We will tell the story how we've overcome,
We will understand it better by and by.
Lyrics: Charles Albert Tindley
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